Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 21

Chapter 21: The Hungry Gyaru and the Big Lunch Box

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Mmmh!~ So good! Salmon is the best filling for onigiri after all! Oh, but meat wrapped onigiri is good too… Actually, you can’t choose between them. They’re both equally good!”

I couldn’t help but smile upon watching Shizuku devour her onigiri with gusto in front of me. It had been a while since I last saw her eat, but just like always, the way she ate her food with such a delighted expression and her genuine compliments still made a smile come to my face. 

Getting up at 4 AM to make these was totally worth it. Of course, I’m not going to tell Shizuku that. 

I thought to myself while biting into my kelp filled onigiri. Then, I noticed Shizuku glancing my way. Her face was tinged red with embarrassment. 

“…Suou-kun.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You’ve been staring at me this whole time. You’re staring a bit too much. I’m going to feel embarrassed if you keep staring at me so hard like that…”

“Ah, sorry.”

I quickly apologized and Shizuku pouted her lips at me. 

“Geez… Well, you always stare at me when I eat, so I guess it’s fine.”

She said while popping a piece of tamagoyaki into her mouth. Her face lit up with happiness as she savored it. Then, without missing a beat, she stuffed her mouth full of onigiri again. She chewed her food thoroughly while letting out a contented hum. 

“Mmh!~”

She had been eating like this the whole time. Taking a bite of her onigiri, reaching for a side dish and then going back to her onigiri again. An endless loop of eating. Thanks to that, one of the two boxes packed full of onigiri was already empty and more than half of the side dishes had been devoured by her. Her big appetite really made all the effort I had put in cooking worth it. 

“By the way…”

Shizuku said, tilting her head to the side curiously.

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while… Suou-kun, how did you get so good at cooking?”

“Hm? Why are you asking me that question all of a sudden?’

“Well, I mean, you always prepare your own bentos and it seems you’re in charge of cooking for everyone at home too. It doesn’t seem like you picked it up from working a part-time job at that ramen shop either. Hence why, I was wondering just what makes you so good at cooking.”

Well, I guess I don’t have any reason to keep it a secret anyway. 

“There’s no deep reason or anything. It’s just that my parents were away from home a lot because of work, so I ended up taking over the cooking. Back then, my older sister was busy with club activities and she had to prepare for high school entrance exams too. Since I didn’t have any friends to hang out with, I had way too much free time at hand. I started cooking and here we are now.”

I answered that and Shizuku’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“Wow. That’s amazing. My house is in a similar situation to yours, but I don’t really cook. Also, Suou-kun. Your self-deprecating humor is kind of funny!”

Shut up.

“…But, don’t you also bring bentos to school? You know, those small ones that’s far from enough for you?”

“Oh, that. I bought almost everything from the supermarket. I just repacked it in a bento box to make it look homemade. The only thing I could cook was the tamagoyaki.”

“That’s already good enough though?”

The fact that she made the tamagoyaki herself was enough proof to see she actually put in effort in cooking. Preparing a bento by yourself was not an easy thing to do. I was already used to it, but it was still quite hard to do. I had to wake up early and did a lot of prep work. Sure, I could make some side dishes the day before, but still. I had to rush everything else in the morning.

“Besides, it’s not like ‘homemade’ food is superior. Food is food. You can also use frozen food or store-bought food for bentos. I don’t see any fault in them.”

“…That. How can you say that when you make everything from scratch, Suou-kun?”

“I’m an exception. Cooking is a hobby to me. I genuinely love cooking and besides…”

Shizuku was staring at me while picking up another meat-wrapped onigiri.

“I think I’ve said this before, but I really like seeing people enjoy the food I make. Especially someone like you, Shizuku. You’re really expressive. I like the way you smile and say how delicious it is.”

“Huh…?”

Shizuku froze mid-bite and let out a faint, weak sound at the same time. She stared at me with a blank expression, like she had been caught off guard. 

“Suou-kun… That… Are you trying to flirt with me?”

“…Like heck I’m flirting with you. I just like people like you. That’s all.”

There weren’t any romantic feelings involved. 

“I don’t have any intention to flirt with you and besides, I don’t have the capability to flirt with anyone in the first place.”

Right after I said that, Shizuku gave me a look that could only be described as a pure exasperation. She let out an exaggerated sigh and said. 

“Suou-kun, you’re lucky you’re not a social butterfly. If you were, you’d have been stabbed by someone by now. I’m not even kidding right now.”

“Why are you suddenly dissing me?”

“Who knows? Figure it out yourself.”

She answered curtly, like a sulky child, before biting into her meat-wrapped onigiri again. 

…Just what’s wrong with her?

A somewhat awkward silence fell between us. Unable to bear the silence, I grabbed an onigiri at random and took a bite.

I guess I might’ve been a bit rude earlier. 

I felt genuinely bad for what I had just said after reflecting what I said to her. After taking the last bite of my onigiri, I turned to face her. 

“…Well, you know… The thing I said earlier? When I said I didn’t have any intention to flirt with you, it wasn’t because you’re not attractive or anything.”

If anything, you’re very attractive.

“I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea, okay?”

After hearing that, Shizuku blinked her eyes in surprise. Her expression turned blank for a moment before she let out another weary sigh. 

“Like I said, stuff like that is… No. Nevermind.”

She sighed again before adding, albeit in a much lower tone.

“I’m Suou-kun’s only friend anyway.”

She muttered with a wry smile as she reached for the last onigiri.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

T/N: I’m keeping the more popular Japanese terms, like bento(lunch box), rice ball(onigiri). Which one do you guys prefer? Let me know~